September 30, 2010

There's just something about being in a big room full of smart, talented, successful women. The energy just kind of bounces off the walls. That's why I jumped on an invitation to NBCU's "Power of the Purse" Breakfast. (Ok, I didn't actually jump on it since it was an email and I didn't want to hurt my laptop, but I did do the Holly Happy Dance.).

How powerful was the panel? The opening interview was with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi if that gives you any hints. Here are some of the highlights.....

September 27, 2010

Women at NBCU, NBC Universal’s female-targeted ad sales, marketing and research initiative, unveiled a new monthly brand index designed to be the most comprehensive marketplace measure of the 25 brands that are most important to women.

So, which brands are women buzzing about? And what can we learn from the report? Here are the key takeaways....

Seven different product categories are represented in the top 25, including technology, automotive and finance – areas traditionally thought of as male-dominated. It's time to lose the stereotypes and get with the program. If you are a company in one of these industries, get smart about talking to women.

Key takeaway #2

Brands that leveraged new media for promotions were some of the biggest movers from July to August. For example, Gap, which moved from #44 to #17 on the list, offered a discount/incentive for shoppers that checked in through Foursquare. Similarly, Pizza Hut, which moved from #73 to #60, also offered a Foursquare discount in August.

So for those of you with bosses asking if social media is really worth it? The above numbers may give you some ammunition to fight for your social media campaigns. Cause marketing campaigns did especially well

Key takeaway #3

Women talk about brands, and what their peers say has a huge impact on which brands they buy.

Women at NBCU also released the findings of its Word of Mouth study conducted in partnership with Keller Faye. The report showed that women talk about brands incessantly -- about 92 times in the course of a week. Most significantly, 62% of women felt what they heard from others was credible and believable, and 51% said they would purchase something based on a conversation.

A recent test by Which Test Won found that one version of a product demo increased conversion by 85%. One of the features of the higher performing page was handwritten notes by the screen shots with a wonderul human voice. Several of the contest respondents noted the handwriting.

This technique can be used for all your marketing materials - even your twitter pages.

Notice how Thatrobguy uses what appears to be a handwritten note taped to the page on the left. Notice how your eyes are naturally drawn to it.

Are you testing handwriting type font on your website and landing pages? Have you seen an increase in conversion?